The Patriots: Future stock

Another season behind them, thoughts turn to mapping out the Patriots' future. There are a number of decisions in front of the team this offseason.

By Glen FarleyEnterprise Staff Writer

There is no game plan to be drawn up for Super Bowl XLVIII.With their 26-16 loss at Denver in Sunday's AFC Championship Game, that opportunity was denied the Patriots.

Instead, there is a blueprint to be drawn up for 2014.

Who, among their own potential free agents, do the Patriots aim to retain? Who, on the free-agent market, do the Patriots intend to pursue? What areas of the team need to be addressed in the draft?

The path the Patriots will take isn't as predictable as the one their quarterback, Tom Brady, took Tuesday when his annual withdrawal from the Pro Bowl was announced.

As for the Patriots, the target date is no longer Feb. 2 when the Super Bowl is to be played in East Rutherford, N.J.

The target dates now are Feb. 17 to March 3 (the period in which franchise and transition tags can be placed on players), March 11 (the start of free agency) and May 8-10 (the draft).

And just as they were for most of the day on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the Patriots find themselves in a catch-up situation.

"When your season goes into the postseason as ours did for three weeks, you're behind going into the college draft and to a certain degree, I would say the free agency process," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "To be honest with you, we're into the 2014 season right now. We're behind, so we have some catching up to do. That's a good position to be in, but it's a bad position to be in. That's really where we're at.

"When your season ends on the last day, whatever it is, Dec. (29) this year, then you have those extra three weeks to try to get caught up on the college draft, get caught up on some other things," said Belichick. "We've been trying to win games in the postseason, so now we're actually behind there."

On Tuesday, linebackers coach Pepper Johnson issued a statement to ESPNBoston.com stating that he will not be returning to the team's staff in 2014.

Plenty of other changes will no doubt occur before the Patriots report to training camp in six months or so.

The Patriots' own list of players heading toward free agency is topped by wide receiver Julian Edelman and cornerback Aqib Talib, but also includes the team's late-season sensation at running back, LeGarrette Blount, starting center Ryan Wendell and linebacker Brandon Spikes, although it seems a decision has been made to move on from the latter.

In a break-out campaign, Edelman was everything it was hoped free-agent acquisition Danny Amendola would be but wasn't, hauling in 105 passes while operating under a one-year contract that paid him slightly more than $1 million. Surely, he'll be looking to cash in. How do the Patriots respond a year after they let Wes Welker walk?

Likewise, Talib played the season under a one-year deal (worth in the neighborhood of $5 million) and, as good as he was, there are injury issues with him as reflected in the fact that he bowed out of his second straight conference championship game. The dropoff from Talib to the second-most-talented corner on the team is huge as reflected in the second straight conference championship game.

The list of potential names on the free-agent market includes New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham and Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker on offense and Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd on the other side of the ball, but any talk of that at this time is futile since there are so many decisions to be made and franchise and transition tags to be placed.

As for the draft, the Patriots own seven picks, one each in the first-through-fourth and seventh rounds, none in the fifth (traded to Philadelphia in exchange for defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga), but two in the sixth (their own plus Philly's as part of the Sopoaga deal).

As always with the Patriots, help is needed at the wide receiver position, but under the category of "what a difference a year makes," who would have thought at this time in 2013, when Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez were still revolutionizing the game, that tight end would be viewed as one of the areas in need of help going forward?

Glen Farley may be reached at gfarley@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GFarley_ent.